White Out
White Out
By Andie O'Neill
Summary: Indiana Jones' biggest regret is about to be erased.
A/N: Now I'm going deep into the movie so hold onto you're fedora hats, cause things are about to get interesting! lol Thanks for all the reviews! I really enjoyed them! More please!
Disclaimer: I don't own it… but I certainly wish I did!
Part Five
Indiana Jones had recognized from the very beginning, the men sent to find his father's diary. Donovan didn't need to bother tricking Indy if he could simply have the journal… cut out the middle man. What they hadn't counted on was the middle man would be far harder to cut than one would expect. Before leaving his room he'd managed to grab his gun and clothes, putting them in his bag just before running into Marion. He wasn't going down without a fight, and he knew the police would arrive soon enough. He'd wounded two already, and killed at least one. The other three men were behind a fairly large table, giving them the cover they needed to continue shooting. The hotel counter wouldn't hold up too much longer. He and Marion would have to make a run for it soon, and he was worried… worried he'd get himself and Marion killed during their escape. Still, he had the upper hand. His knowledge of future events would no doubt prove advantageous in the end… he just had to survive long enough to use it.
He couldn't stop thinking about Henry. He was a father now… he couldn't afford to take risks. He had another life to think about, two lives. He'd already put Marion in harm's way without even trying to… what about his son? Still, if he stayed behind the front desk too much longer, he'd be getting himself killed anyway. Damned if he did, and damned if he didn't. He glanced down at the journal… it was like a bad penny. Every time it was sent to him, trouble followed. "Marion, we need to make a run for it, okay?"
"What? Are you crazy?!" she shouted. Of course he was, he was asking a formally pregnant woman to run for a door despite the flying bullets.
Indy put his hand over her mouth, worried the Nazi's would hear. "Just trust me okay?"
Marion rolled her eyes. "Trust you… great! Okay, okay… what do you want me to do?" she asked him.
Indy could see the fear in her eyes, but at least she was trusting him. That was a step in the right direction… for them both. He took her hand once more, firing a few shots at the three still left over, then glanced back at her. "I'm going to waste this gun, fire everything left at them. Then we make a run for the door… if their as dumb as I remember them they won't have anyone guarding the door and we can make a clean getaway. Keep you're head down. We'll be okay, Marion… I promise," he told her. Indy took a deep breath before kissing Marion with everything he had. It was passionate, although short, a reminder of his feelings for her. He aimed his gun and fired, hitting another gunman while the other two ducked for cover. Still shooting, he pulled Marion away from the front desk and shot toward the door. Marion pushed the door open just as he ran out of bullets and the two immediately rushed from the hotel, knowing the other two gunman would be in pursuit.
"Now what?" she asked, a bit out of breath.
When Indy saw the motorcycle up ahead he immediately jumped in front of it, his hands out in a gesture to stop. The motorcycle skitted to a halt and Marion groaned. "What the hell man!" the motorcyclist shouted as he took off his helmet.
Indiana just smiled. "Sorry buddy, but I need you're motorcycle," he explained before punching him out cold. He though some money at the guy and put on his helmet, handing Marion hers.
"I hate motorcycles," she complained.
Indy smiled, thinking of Mutt. "Get used to em, honey, you'll be seeing them a lot in life," he warned her.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
Jones just shook his head, as he got on. Marion got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waste, tighter than she probably had to, but Indy wasn't about to complain. "Hold on tight!" he told her and accelerated just as the two gunman ran out of the hotel. He knew they'd be following him soon, but he'd learned a thing or two about motorcycles from riding with Mutt. Marion shouted as he shot down an alley while the black car behind them hit one of the buildings and blew. Not too bright at all. Jones allowed himself a grin at good thinking. Now to contact Marcus.
Marcus Brody was nervous, perhaps more than usual. Not long after leaving his plane, he'd been 'invited' by three rather burley men to take a ride. Normally the older man would never have accepted such an invitation, but he'd suspected he didn't have a choice in the matter and had gotten in the car despite his fears. Brody had been taken to an apartment in New York, but hadn't been given enough time to access as to where exactly he'd been taken… not that he really would have understood anyway. He wasn't very good with directions unfortunately. The three men had left him in a room, and assured him that the apartment's owner would be in shortly. He could hear the faint sounds of music outside the room, a piano was playing and Marcus suspected he'd come during a dinner party, though he couldn't exactly be certain. Once inside the room he'd immediately looked around, astounded by the collections of history the owner had found. Before he could really touch anything, though, the double doors opened and a silver-haired man wearing a black tuxedo walked inside. "I trust your trip down was comfortable, Doctor Brody. I do hope my men didn't alarm you," he said as he crossed the room to extend his hand. "My name is Donovan… Walter Donovan."
Marcus had seen the man before, on many occasions. Feeling much better about his situation, he shook Donovan's hand. "Ah yes, Mr. Donovan, we've met. Your contributions to the museum over the years have been extremely generous."
Donovan nodded with a friendly smile.
"The pieces in your collection are quite impressive, Mr. Donovan."
"Like yourself, Doctor Brody, I have a passion for antiquities," he admitted before walking over to a circular table. "Have a look over here," he invited. Some cloth covered the object on the table and Donovan immediately pulled it back to reveal the object. "This might interest you."
It was a fragment of a flat stone tablet. Marcus noticed the cross, cut off at the left corner, surrounded by an engraved text. Leaning down, he inspected the tablet from close up. "It's sandstone… a Christian symbol. Early Latin text… I would think Mid-twelfth century, but I'm not much of an expert."
"Oh no, our assessment was the same."
"Where did it come from?" he asked, unable to deny his curiosity.
"My engineers unearthed it in the mountain region north of Ankara while excavating for copper," Donovan answered. "Can you translate the inscription?"
Brody shook his head. Translation was no easy matter, especially with Marcus' limited knowledge of early Latin. That had always been Henry Jones Sr.'s expertise. "I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help to you, Mr. Donovan. I'm not much of an expert, but I do know one man who may help. His name is-"
"Henry Jones Sir. Yes I know. Unfortunately he's been missing, vanished right along with all his research. Doctor Schneider has no idea of his whereabouts or what's become of him."
Bad, very bad.
"We were hoping to find his son, Doctor Indiana Jones, but no one seems to know of his whereabouts either."
Marcus smiled, with Indy's help they'd be sure to uncover the mystery of his father's disappearance. "You're in luck, Mr. Donovan. I know exactly where he is. He's in London. I could give you an address."
Donovan smiled. "Thank you, Doctor Brody… that would be most helpful."
"You did WHAT?!" Indy shouted.
"Indy, you're father has gone missing! You're the only person who may be able to find him!" Brody explained on the phone.
Indiana already knew, had gone through it all before. "I already KNOW, Marcus! He went missing while looking for the Holy Grail. The Nazi's have him."
"Dear god! The Holy Grail?! Nazis?!"
Jones knew Marcus had no idea what he'd given Donovan. How could he know? He had to calm down, had to think things through. He couldn't just leave it all behind; he'd have to find his father, and the Grail. "Marcus, if Donovan contacts you again, you get away! Don't trust him! Do you understand me? By no means do you trust him!"
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm going after my father. I gotta go, just promise me you'll stay away from Donovan."
"I promise, Indy, I'll stay away!" he assured him.
Indiana sighed in relief. "Be careful."
"You too."
With that he hung up the phone and turned to Marion. He was about to speak, tell her what was happening when a limo stopped nearby, and the window rolled down to reveal Walter Donovan himself. "Doctor Indiana Jones?"
"Who's asking?" he said, deciding to play dumb.
"I'm Walter Donovan, and I need you're help, Doctor Jones."
Indy glanced at Marion, taking her hand protectively as he walked over to the limo. He wouldn't let his father down… he had to play his part, whether he wanted to or not. Donovan would get his soon enough.
They'd been taken to a hotel fifteen minutes away and showed to a suite at the top floor before Donovan finally spoke. Indy had immediately noticed the tablet, covered in cloth on a desk in the living room. "I'm sure Doctor Brody made you aware of the situation."
Indiana nodded, not yet ready to take his eyes away from the tablet. "My father's gone missing. He was working with you're team on some project."
"Not just some project. I showed this to your friend earlier, but I suspect you will find it a bit more interesting than Doctor Brody did." Walking over to the tablet, he revealed it to Indy, smiling.
Indiana already knew what it said, but he walked over to it anyway. "Yes, Marcus told me about it. Early Latin text."
"He was unable to translate it."
He moved his finger along the edge of the ancient tablet and read aloud as he'd done years before. "'…who drinks the water I shall give him, says the Lord, will have a… spring inside him welling up for eternal life.'" He'd seen what the Grail could do first hand… watched it heal his father, save his life. That had been a long time ago. "'Let them bring me to your holy mountain in the place where you dwell. Across the desert and through the mountain to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, to the temple where the cup that…" he paused, looking up at Donovan. "'Where the cup that holds the blood of Jesus Christ resides forever.'"
"The Holy Grail? You're father was trying to find the Holy Grail?" Marion asked in wonder.
Donovan nodded. "The chalice used by Christ during the Last Supper. The cup that caught His blood at the crucifixion and was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathaea."
He remembered the last time he'd had their conversation; the words came back to him as if it had been just yesterday. "The Arthur legend… I've heard this bedtime story before."
Marion was giving him a curious look, probably wondering who he could dismiss the tablet so easily when he'd been the man to find the Ark.
"Eternal life, Doctor Jones!" Donovan spoke excitedly. "The gift of youth to whoever drinks from the Grail. Oh, now that's a bedtime story I'd like to wake up to!"
"An old man's dream," he told him despite knowing the truth.
"Every man's dream," Donovan shot back. "Including your father's."
'Want to be young again? Try time travel, does wonders,' Indy thought to himself. Indiana stared down at the tablet, thinking of the journey ahead of him. He just wished he could keep Marion out of it, but it was too late for that now. She was already in too deep. Donovan knew who she was.
"Hard to resist, isn't it? The Holy Grail's final resting place described in detail!"
"What good is it?" Indy said, playing his part surprisingly well. It had been years after all. "This Grail tablet speaks of deserts and mountains and canyons. Pretty vague. You say my father was the project leader, but where did you start looking? Maybe if the tablet was intact, you'd have something to go on, but the entire top portion is missing."
Donovan paused, suddenly very serious. "Let me tell you another 'bedtime story,' Doctor Jones. After the Grail was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathaea, it disappeared, and was lost for a thousand years before it was found again by three knights of the First Crusade. Three brothers, to be exact."
Indy grinned. "I've heard this one as well. Two of these brothers walked out of the desert one hundred and fifty years after having found the Grail and began the long journey back to France, but only one of them made it. And before dying of extreme old age, he supposedly imparted his tale to… to a Franciscan Friar, I believe."
"Not 'supposedly,' Doctor Jones," Donovan argued. He then gestured to the ancient leather-bound volume on the coffee table by the couch. It was already opened as before to display Latin text. "This is the manuscript in which the friar chronicled the knight's story. It doesn't reveal the location of the Grail, I'm afraid, but the knight promised that two markers that had been left behind would."
Indy looked at the displayed pages with a knowing smile.
"This tablet is one of those markers. It proves the knight's story is true. But as you pointed out… it's incomplete. Now, the second marker is entombed with the knight's dead brother. You're father believed that tomb to be located within the city of Venice, Italy." Donovan was watching him closely as he examined the book. "As you can now see, Doctor Jones, we're about to complete a great quest that began almost two thousand years ago. We're only one step away, but we can't do this without you're father. I want you to pick up the trail where he left off. Find the man, and you will find the Grail."
Indiana took Marion's hand and gave her a reassuring look. He could see it in her eyes; she knew why he had to leave. What worried him was the look that told him she wasn't going to be left behind, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to talk her out of it. They'd never had an argument that Indy had ever won, he doubted their next argument would be any different.
"I'm coming with you," she told him the moment they'd left Donovan's hotel.
"I know," he told her, turning to look at her as they waited for Donovan. "I already told him I wanted two tickets to Venice, he's making the arrangements."
Marion smiled. "How'd you know I'd want to come?"
Indy just shrugged, kissing her forehead. "You are and always will be, Abner's daughter," he told her honestly. Abner had always been up for an adventure, it was what he lived for… and died for. "Besides, only you'd be crazy enough to help me find the Grail days after having a baby," he told her.
Marion glared at him. "Someone has to watch you're back! Besides, if I can drink a three hundred pound guy under the table, I think I can handle this. Nothing I haven't faced before."
Indy thought of correcting her. The journey they were about to find themselves on was nothing like the search for the Ark. Nothing was what it seemed, and the Nazis had learned a thing or two. "Call Colin and Oxley, let them know what's happening and that we'll be taking a little trip. It shouldn't take long."
"Indy, you're trying to find the cup of Jesus Christ, and you don't think it'll take long."
He gave her his best winning smile. "Trust me, it won't take long. Dad sent me his journal… not long after he disappeared more than likely. We'll find it."
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, whispered as her expression grew serious.
Indiana stared back down at her, his heart swelling at the idea that she worried for him. He knew they'd be okay, and that his father was still alive. Still, the timeline was changing and the doubt nagged at him. He wasn't really sure how to answer her question. "I have you… don't I?"
Marion kissed him gently. "Yea Indy, you've got me," she assured him.
"Then I'll be okay," he answered, pulling her into his arms. He just hoped there wouldn't be any other surprises thrown his way.
"Doctor Jones?"
Indy had been enjoying the scenery in Venice when he'd heard the familiar voice, and his heart pounded with the realization. She was wearing a dark gray suit and skirt to match, her long blonde hair framing her face well. "Yes?" he spoke as he walked down the gangplank.
"I knew it was you," the woman he hadn't seen in years said with an amused smile. "You have your father's eyes."
"And my mother's ears," he added, biting back the comment he'd spoken the last time he'd met her.
"Marion Ravenwood?" she questioned, looking past him.
Marion was looking her up and down, and Indy had a feeling he knew what she was thinking. "That's right."
"Doctor Elsa Schneider," the woman said as she extended her hand to Marion.
Marion hesitated for only a second before taking it. "Nice to meet you." Indy knew it was a lie. He could see it in her eyes; she didn't like Elsa, though he really couldn't blame her. 'This will be interesting… two beautiful women… with me… looking for the Grail. I'm screwed,' Indy thought to himself as he followed Elsa to Donovan's apartment.
To Be Continued….
A/N: Elsa and Marion… and Indy. I had a hard time not laughing when I wrote this last part, so hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I have! Just wait for when his father shows up… it gets better! :D Like I said, I'm mostly sticking to the story, but as you can see some of the conversations will be corrected to fit with the changes in timeline. Hopefully you'll like them! I'll also be adding more Oxley and Colin in the story in later chapters… and of course Henry, so I'm hoping you'll enjoy it! The fun's just begun! ;) Oh and forgive me all you mothers, nurses, and doctors who may tell me it's impossible for Marion to be up for anything like this after having a kid, I had to do it this way... it works with the story!! So please, forgive me! :D